Marching Band: Sport or Not?
by Meg the Patriot
Summary: My ongoing argument for whether or not marching band is a sport. Feel free to comment or PM me your arguments. In fact, I'm begging you to send me arguments. And tell me if your band is ever competing against Olentangy Liberty in Ohio! I'll cheer for you!
1. Yes: definition

**A/N: This is my new ongoing debate for whether or not Marching Band is a sport. Review your arguments for or against, and I will post them if I find them worthy. In other words, if I haven't already posted something like it, it will be posted eventually. If you want a faster argument, PM me. I will start:**

**Disclaimer: I will try to state all of my sources when arguing. Please do the same if you want to add to it.  
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Yes, it is a sport.

I might be somewhat biased as I am in my school's marching band (Go Liberty!), but check out the definition of a sport.

According to Oxford-

Sport: _noun:_ An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

I highly doubt that anyone would deny that marching band requires a lot of skill- if not, then imagine having to remember three plus pieces of music- every note, rhythm, crescendo and decrescendo, fermata, accent, and accelerandos and ritardandos -combined to last over seven minutes, along with drill charts for each piece of music, then march on a field- which can be _extremely_ dangerous if you're not paying attention or mess up (imagine a 40 pound sousaphone tripping over you. If that doesn't phase you, imagine 5th base landing on you. If you still, _somehow_, think it's not dangerous, imagine one of the guard members' flags hitting you on it's way down. Yeah, might hurt a bit.) -but you also have to have perfect posture, great marching technique, _and,_ along with all of this, you still have to be musical with your playing. We are a team, in fact one of the only teams where we have to have every member, good or bad, to do our best (the others being indoor drumline and drum corps. (Tell me if there are more!)) We compete against other competition bands, with judges watching our every move, ready to mark us down with every little mistake. And there are people who absolutely love watching marching bands.

The only part that's hard to convince others on is physical exertion. We do conditioning, we run before we march, we pretty much run _as_ we march (average top tempo for a marching show is 180bpm. Go to an online metronome to see how fast that is.) We also have to go from one speed to double or half that speed or even a completely unrelated tempo within the space of one beat. Not even a second. Also, a common saying in my band is "If it hurts, you're doing it right." This applies for slides, straight legged marching, etc. It's so physically exerting we get a PE waiver for it. Two seasons of marching band, you don't need to take gym. We use up at least twice as much oxygen as any other athlete as we have to put a lot of air into our instruments but we also move around as we're doing so, so our muscles use the oxygen too. And we literally bust our chops. Playing any instrument as loud as we have to on that field for seven minutes, much less the three and a half hours we practice for (three days a week), will do that. Taking that information in, do you still think it's not as physically exhausting as listed sports like bowling, where you have to move two steps forwards and let go of a ball, then you get to rest? NO BREAKS IN MARCHING BAND! If you need a break in the middle of a run, practice or not, you tough it out. If you start slacking because you need a break, you'll have the entire rest of your band mad at you. Not to mention the techs, the director, and the field commander(s)/drum major(s).

According to Merriam-Webster (in case one definition wasn't enough for you)-

Sport: _noun:_ A contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other; a physical activity that is done for enjoyment.

Only difference here is the specific set of rules part. We have rules. You can only be on the field for so long. You have to be on the field for at least so long (I think it's seven minutes). NEVER play at a competition unless your band is given permission to warm up or it's your turn to compete. And so on. These are only some of the major rules that could get you disqualified or knock you down quite a few points if you don't follow them. And then there's the in-band rules. Always knock on the bathroom door before, during, and after practice in case someone is changing. Be open minded to criticism. It's only there to make you better. MOTIVATION! (the most important rule.) Always do the most you can if you're sitting out. Go over your music in your head as you follow your dot, march your dot without playing. Whatever you have to do to stay caught up.

And that is my argument as for why marching band is MOST DEFINITELY a sport.

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**A/N: Any arguments? Agreements reinforcing why marching band is a sport? Comment them. Yours might show up in a later chapter.**


	2. No: It's an art

**A/N: I already posted my argument for why Marching Band is a sport. This is the one argument for why it's not that I could never argue against. Because it's based on opinion.**

**Disclaimer: This comes from my history teacher. I claim nothing, all rights go to him.**

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Not a Sport

Marching Band is not a sport because it is an ART! I'm not saying that the Marching Band doesn't work hard. They probably work harder than any of you. But something can't be both a sport and an art. Is the orchestra a sport? No, because it's an art. Marching Band is very difficult. I'm not saying I could ever do it. I can't march and I can't play an instrument. But that doesn't change the fact that it's not a sport.

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**A/N: I know it's short. But that's the basic jist of what he was saying. That is the part that I couldn't argue against. Except that he agreed that dancing and competitive cheer are sports while marching band is not. So what are your thoughts? Comment!**


	3. Yes: both a sport and an art

**Credit for this chapter/argument against chapter two goes to Rylee Wyatt. Thanks for the support!**

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Why can't it be a sport AND an art? What's wrong with it being both? Should it being musically beautiful cancel out the physical and mental exertion? Why can Academic Decathlon or Mathletes be considered a sport when they are only mentally exhausting? It's ridiculous and narrow minded to think that music cannot be also a sport.  
And how are dancing and cheer any different than that? They are musically driven (not produced, of course, but cheerleaders have to yell). Dancing is an art! But they are also considered a sport. An art is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." Beauty and emotional power. Is there any part of music that is not beautiful and emotional? However, agreeing it's an art is not the problem. The "sports" part of it is "an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment." Physical exertion. Ever try marching in 104 degree heat to the beat trying to remember your music and hold your instrument straight for 7 minutes? Skill. Already addressed that. Individual or team. We do both. Multiple times. With people watching us and judging us. Not just watching, listening as well. Competes against another or others. Marching contest. Concert contest. Judging panels. For entertainment. Art. It's as simple as that. It's an art.


	4. Yes: Just as hard as any sport

**Credit for this chapter/argument goes to bandgeek63 and is written from their POV (I was too lazy to change it). Thanks for the support!**

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Why isn't marching band a sport when it's just as hard as most sports? At some schools you have to get a sports physical for marching band. They don't really bug you if you don't turn it in, but you're supposed to. Second, it takes up most of your time in the fall just like any other sport. Third, and perhaps most damningly, it requires an INSANE amount of physical endurance! At tonight's rehearsal, our directors, who were bound and determined to make sure that the whole show was on the field moving and playing by the end of rehearsal, were drilling us in the third movement over and over and over! You'd think they'd start to slow it down a little when everyone started dropping like flies! The one girl 'died' again! (She's always passing out; they had to call an ambulance for her at our competition last Saturday. She may be very stubborn, but she's a trooper; I'll give her that!) Plus, there were two boys that eventually had to get off the field as well. Now, I am not a very athletic person, but since is my third year in marching band, i was able to put up with it because I've learned to push through. But all the people who had to get off the field tonight are in their first year, and I can guarantee you that two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to put up with that rehearsal.

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**So I know I don't usually do this, but I'm really excited! UC's marching band played at our high school's football game yesterday (Friday, September 26th) on their way to OSU! The coolest part is, I now have a twin in that band, I know 3 people that graduated from my school within the past two years, and I got to house 5 more! We got maybe 5 hours of sleep, then i went back to school with them so they could practice (their SUMMER UNIFORM is a polo and pants. I FEEL SO BAD! We now have athletic shorts and shirts for ours! THEY WOULD MOST LIKELY OVERHEAT IN THAT KIND OF STUFF IN SUMMER!) then came back to my house and immediately crashed for 4 hours. YEAH!**


	5. Yes: Because guard

**Credit for this chappie goes to FreyaHawthorne. Shoutout to all the guard peps out there! You guys are awesome and make the show more interesting!**

**Also, I'm getting a lot of arguments for why band is a sport, but, and I'm sorry to say this, I need more arguments for why band _isn't_ a sport. Come on haters! This is when you're appreciated!**

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Guard is another part of band, and it's totally a sport too! They have to jazz run at the same tempo the band plays at, while tossing around 6 foot metal flagpoles, rifles, and sabres along with catching them, which means they have to account for the wind constantly. They're also dancing, with perfect style, facial expressions, and all limbs extended, pointed, and graceful. All while trying not to hurt themselves or the rest of the band with said 6 foot metal flagpoles! Yeah, most definitely a sport. I'd like to see you do that and not clock yourself on the head. Unless you're in guard, then I know you can do it!

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**Btw my high school's band is already one of the best in Ohio for making it to OMEA finals! I'm so proud of us! Olentangy if anyone wants to check it out :)**


	6. Author's Note

**Hey guys. No, this is not an update. I'm honestly surprised I got anything on this. I was just doing it to figure out the ropes of fanfiction. So thanks for all of that. But I need some more help on this. I already wrote out my arguments for and my teacher's argument against. And thanks for all the arguments for marching band being a sport. But I need some arguments against also, as I already said. Don't feel like you shouldn't send me anything against because I'll get mad or anything. It's all just a matter of opinion. I might joke around a bit, but I hardly ever mean anything harsh. Anyways, if you're waiting for updates and wondering why they're not coming, this is why. Thanks for all of the support you've given me so far!**

**Stay crazy and march on, people! :)**


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